The massive walls of the Capital remained brightly lit despite the deep night.
Torches burned along the battlements as squads of soldiers moved back and forth, searching every corner for traces of the mysterious intruder who had somehow slipped past the city's defences.
Orders were shouted continuously.
Search teams spread across the outer perimeter.
Yet none of them knew that the person they were searching for was already far beyond their reach.
Several kilometers away from the Capital.
A dark figure raced through the forest like a phantom.
It was Rey.
Ever since narrowly escaping the Wall Commander's terrifying attack, he hadn't slowed down for even a second.
Five kilometers.
Ten kilometers.
Then even farther.
Only after putting a massive distance between himself and the city did he finally begin easing his pace.
The memory of that slash still lingered vividly in his mind.
That single attack had nearly killed him.
Even now, thinking about it sent a chill down his spine.
A true Acolyte Rank powerhouse...
The gap was simply monstrous.
Rey glanced back toward the distant Capital.
The city lights had already become faint stars on the horizon.
Only then did he finally feel slightly safer.
His destination had never been the city walls anyway.
According to Victor's estimate, the mysterious presence should be somewhere much deeper within the forest.
At least twenty to thirty kilometers away from the Capital.
The first ten kilometers surrounding the city were almost completely cleared by hunting groups.
The Capital was unlike other cities.
The nearest city was nearly three hundred kilometers away, with endless forests stretching between them.
Those forests were treasure troves for hunters and martial artists.
Every day, countless groups ventured out to hunt beasts and gather resources.
As a result, the area surrounding the Capital was kept relatively clean.
Most beasts were eliminated before they could become threats.
Even those that slipped through were usually dealt with by the city guards.
The deeper wilderness was a different story.
And now...
Rey had finally reached it.
Dense vegetation swallowed the landscape.
Ancient trees stretched toward the sky.
The air itself felt heavier.
Wild.
Untamed.
Dangerous.
Standing atop a thick branch, Rey scanned the endless sea of darkness ahead.
"So this is where the real forest begins..."
His eyes narrowed.
Then he asked,
"Victor, are you absolutely certain the signal came from this direction?"
Victor immediately appeared beside him.
The spirit's face twitched.
"You've asked me that four times already."
His voice carried obvious irritation.
"Do you want me to carve it into your skull as well?"
"Just keep moving."
"If you can't find it, then search harder."
Rey laughed awkwardly.
"Alright, alright."
Without wasting any more time, he leapt forward.
His body blurred through the darkness.
Branch after branch flashed beneath his feet as he moved deeper into the forest.
The silence around him was unsettling.
No beast roars.
No movement.
Only the occasional rustling of leaves.
Yet that silence itself felt suspicious.
After several minutes, Rey suddenly stopped.
Something was there.
A faint sound.
Almost impossible to notice.
His eyes narrowed.
The darkness around him remained unchanged.
Nothing visible.
But that didn't mean nothing was there.
A smile appeared beneath his mask.
⟪Abyssal Pulse Echo⟫
A transparent wave spread outward.
Instantly, the surrounding terrain appeared within his mind.
Trees.
Bushes.
Roots.
Every living presence nearby.
And then—
He found it.
A pulse of energy hidden within the bushes to his left.
Roughly ten meters away.
A beast.
Without hesitation, Rey vanished.
Inside the dense undergrowth, a hairless hyena-like creature crouched patiently.
Its broad body remained perfectly still.
Predator instincts focused on finding prey.
Completely unaware that it had already become prey itself.
High above.
Rey stood silently on a branch.
Observing.
Stage One.
Nothing special.
Not even worth using much effort.
A ripple passed through the dark cloth covering his arm.
Black particles gathered together.
A sword formed instantly.
Then—
He jumped.
The beast immediately sensed movement.
Its head snapped upward.
But by then it was already too late.
Rey appeared directly above it.
The moment his stealth disappeared, terror filled the beast's eyes.
A silver flash cut through the darkness.
Slash.
The blade passed cleanly through its neck.
The beast never even had the chance to react.
Its head rolled across the ground.
Its body collapsed a second later.
Dead.
Instantly.
Rey landed softly beside the corpse.
The sword dissolved back into dark particles.
A familiar notification appeared.
[You've slain a Stage-One Beast.]
[Experience gained...]
Rey ignored it.
This wasn't what he came here for.
"I should leave before the smell attracts anything stronger."
He turned to go.
Then suddenly—
His shadow moved.
Rey froze.
The darkness beneath him stretched unnaturally.
Like a living creature awakening.
A second later, Oblivion lunged toward the corpse.
The beast's body vanished.
Its blood disappeared.
Even the scent vanished.
Everything was consumed.
Gone.
As if it had never existed.
The shadow calmly returned beneath Rey's feet.
Silence.
Rey stared at it.
"...You could've asked first."
He nudged the shadow lightly.
No response.
The ability acted innocently.
As though it had done absolutely nothing.
Rey shook his head helplessly.
Then resumed moving.
The search continued.
Twenty kilometers.
Then twenty-five.
Then even farther.
Throughout the journey, Rey maintained both stealth and detection skills simultaneously.
Ordinarily, such constant usage would rapidly drain mana.
But at night, his recovery was absurd.
Mana regenerated almost as quickly as it was spent.
The darkness itself seemed to favour him.
Several sleeping beasts appeared within his detection range.
Rey ignored most of them.
His objective wasn't hunting.
It was finding the mysterious signal.
Time slowly passed.
The forest grew denser.
The atmosphere became heavier.
More beasts appeared.
Stronger ones.
Predators lurking within the shadows.
Occasionally, Rey eliminated isolated targets to prevent unnecessary trouble.
Yet despite hours of searching...
He found nothing.
No ruins.
No cave.
No hidden structure.
No trace of the presence Victor had sensed.
His brows gradually furrowed.
Had they been mistaken?
Or was whatever had called him hiding even deeper?
Then—
Rey looked upward.
Beyond the endless canopy, faint streaks of light were beginning to appear across the horizon.
Dawn was approaching.
And with it...
His remaining time was rapidly running out.
If he didn't return soon, he knew exactly what awaited him.
A lecture.
A very long lecture.
And unfortunately, the person delivering it would be Uncle Hosric.
Just thinking about it made him sigh.
"Looks like today's search is over."
He prepared to head back.
Then suddenly—
His eyes narrowed.
Two beast signatures appeared within the range of his detection skill.
Not far away.
Rey immediately shifted his attention.
A pair of wolf-like creatures prowled through the forest undergrowth.
Massive bodies.
Powerful limbs.
Rows of jagged fangs protrude from their mouths like blades.
Even from a distance, their presence was noticeably stronger than the beasts he had encountered throughout the night.
A smile appeared on Rey's face.
"Stage Two."
His eyes gleamed.
"Well... before leaving, hunting one last prey shouldn't hurt."
Using his stealth skill, he vanished.
Moments later, he appeared on a branch directly above the beasts.
The pair immediately reacted.
Their ears twitched.
Sharp eyes snapped upward.
A few leaves drifted downward from the canopy.
Nothing else.
The beasts remained alert.
But after several moments passed without danger appearing, their vigilance relaxed slightly.
Only slightly.
Rey remained completely motionless.
Patience was one of the most important skills for a hunter.
Especially after his previous experience attracting half a forest by being careless.
Several minutes passed.
Then one of the beasts slowly lay down to rest.
The second remained standing guard.
Rey's eyes sharpened.
Opportunity.
Without hesitation, he moved.
His body dropped silently from above.
A dagger appeared in his hand.
The blade aimed directly for the resting beast's skull.
But at that exact moment—
The standing beast lunged.
Its massive jaws opened.
Its target wasn't the dagger.
It was Rey's neck.
The timing was perfect.
The coordination was flawless.
The two beasts had intentionally lowered their guard.
They had been waiting for their prey to make the first move.
A trap.
Unfortunately for them...
Rey had already anticipated it.
A grin appeared beneath his mask.
⟪Phantom Shift⟫
His figure vanished.
The lunging beast bit through empty air.
Shock appeared in its eyes.
The next instant, Rey reappeared directly above the lunging beast.
Stab!
The dagger pierced through its skull.
The beast died instantly.
Its body crashed heavily against the forest floor.
The second beast froze.
Then rage exploded within its eyes.
A furious howl echoed through the trees.
Without hesitation, it launched itself toward Rey.
Its fangs aimed directly for his throat.
But before it could reach him—
A black spear shot forward like lightning.
Thrust!
The beast's body jerked violently.
The spear pierced completely through its neck.
Momentum carried the corpse several meters before it crashed into a tree.
Silence returned.
Rey slowly landed atop the first beast's corpse.
The spear remained lodged inside the second.
Both enemies were dead.
The battle had ended almost as quickly as it began.
Rey exhaled softly.
"That was easier than expected."
Still, he knew the truth.
Without his skills, this fight would've been significantly harder.
Stage Two beasts were dangerous opponents for most Initiates.
Yet against his combination of detection, stealth, shift, and weapon control...
They never truly had a chance.
A notification appeared.
[You've slain 2×Low Stage-Two Beasts.]
[Experience gained....]
Rey's gaze shifted downward.
He was waiting for something.
And right on cue—
The darkness beneath his feet stirred.
A black mass emerged from his shadow.
Oblivion.
Like a starving beast, it lunged forward.
The two corpses disappeared within seconds.
Not even a drop of blood remained.
The ground was spotless.
As though nothing had ever happened there.
Rey still found the sight unsettling.
Every single time.
Then another notification appeared.
[Ability ⟪Devour⟫ Activated.]
[You've gained +1 AGL Stat.]
His eyes widened slightly.
This was the first time he had obtained a stat reward during the hunt.
Most of the beasts he'd killed throughout the night had been High or Peak Stage One.
Apparently, they weren't enough to trigger a gain.
But Stage Two beasts were different.
That meant stronger prey could potentially provide even greater rewards.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
After checking the notification, Rey immediately left the area.
The smell of blood might be gone.
But remaining in one location for too long was still a bad habit.
Especially inside an unfamiliar forest.
The return journey began.
His body blurred through the darkness.
Within minutes, the towering walls of the Capital appeared once more.
Unfortunately...
The hardest part still remained.
Crossing the wall.
Again.
This time, Rey avoided the section where he had nearly been killed earlier.
He chose a completely different route.
Carefully.
Patiently.
Using every stealth skill available.
The climb proceeded smoothly.
No guards noticed him.
No alarms sounded.
With Eclipse Shroud and his other concealment abilities working together, anyone below Acolyte Rank had virtually no chance of detecting him.
Soon, he reached the top.
Then immediately crossed toward the inner side.
No hesitation.
No lingering.
He jumped.
Wind rushed past his face.
A moment later—
Boom!
His landing created another loud impact.
Rey's expression changed.
"...Ah."
The sound echoed farther than expected.
Several guards immediately reacted.
Alarm bells rang across the wall.
Shouts erupted from every direction.
Search teams mobilised once more.
Yet before anyone could arrive—
Rey was already gone.
A shadow racing across rooftops.
A ghost disappearing into the awakening city.
Behind him, another fruitless search began.
Even the Wall Commander personally investigated again.
But just like before...
Nothing was found.
No intruder.
No traces.
No evidence.
Only confusion.
Meanwhile, the true culprit continued sprinting across the Capital.
The sun had already risen above the horizon.
His time limit was almost over.
A few minutes later—
The familiar house came into view.
Relief immediately appeared on Rey's face.
Home.
He made one final leap onto a nearby rooftop.
Then his expression froze.
A luxurious car stood directly outside the gate.
One he recognised instantly.
The door opened.
And a certain familiar figure stepped out.
Hosric.
Rey's face turned pale.
The relief he had felt moments ago vanished completely.
Only one thought remained inside his head.
'...I'm dead.'